Skulz’s Dota Competitive Hero Tier List October 2018

The Dota 2 Competitive Hero Tier List for October 2018 includes data from 7.19c and 7.19d, for a total of 329 games. All heroes are split in five groups.

All heroes are arranged in five tiers based on their draft rate. The tiers are viewed as clusters of data, and each hero is placed in the one they are closer the most.

The requisites for each tier never change. The goal is offering a neutral comparison that shows how the meta evolves over time.

The win rate has no effect on the tiers, but is included for further info. The tiers depend only on drafts, and aren't affected either by the win rate of a hero, or by their performance in pub matches.

This tier list includes all matches from October 1st to 27th morning. I decided to not wait for the DreamLeague Season 10 Minor because it will start on the 29th and end on November 4th.

Have a look at the top heroes of the month and you will notice that the great majority holds similar placements since August. All the patches released past TI8 had the goal to nerf the most popular picks of the meta, but the gameplay remained the same.

I have explained already almost all the heroes (especially the carries) in the previous tier lists and patch explanations, so today I focused my attention on a few supports I have never talked about before: Winter Wyvern and Ogre Magi.

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Tier 1

Hero

Name

P+B

P+B%

Picks

Picks%

Bans

Bans%

Win%

Tiny

305

92.7%

91

27.7%

214

65.1%

48.4%

Io

297

90.3%

29

8.8%

268

81.5%

51.7%

Necrophos

281

85.4%

102

31.0%

179

54.4%

57.8%

Weaver

256

77.8%

107

32.5%

149

45.3%

54.2%

Earthshaker

226

68.7%

110

33.4%

116

35.3%

55.5%

Winter Wyvern

218

66.3%

87

26.4%

131

39.8%

57.5%

Ogre Magi

210

63.8%

123

37.4%

87

26.4%

52.9%

Phantom Lancer

202

61.4%

54

16.4%

148

45.0%

66.7%

Drow Ranger

199

60.5%

51

15.5%

148

45.0%

54.9%

Note: I provided a detailed explanation on Tiny (the top tier 1 hero during October and September)in the previous tier list.

Winter Wyvern’s skillset fits the meta

Winter Wyvern ascended to tier 1-2 starting from July. The main reason behind her popularity is a skillset which is perfect to counter many heroes and strategies used in the current meta.

Wave-clearing capabilities. Splinter Blast is excellent against pushers because it damages an unlimited number of targets in a 500 radius. The skill is effective against creeps, dominated neutrals, illusions (Phantom Lancer), and summons of any kind.

Broodmother’s spiderlings and Enigma’s eidolons are suitable examples among the current most drafted heroes.

Formidable versus tanks. Arctic Burn inflicts damage based on a % of the target health points, which is powerful against tanky heroes during all the game. In particular, it offers a great value in the laning phase as it can zone out them while remaining at a safe distance.

Tiny, Ogre Magi, Axe, Undying, Morphling in strength mode are just a few examples among the heroes in the top 20 that can be punished by this skill.

She counters auto-attackers. A well-placed Winter’s Curse can determine the fate of a team fight when facing physical DPS heroes. If the ultimate is used successfully early on, the battle will turn into a 5vs4.

Drow Ranger is great both as a target because she is extremely squishy, and as an attacker because her damage can annihilate most heroes quickly.

Magic damage is Winter Wyvern’s biggest weakness

Cold Embrace does a fine job with high-HP heroes because it heals a percentage of the max health of the target per second. It also nullifies all incoming physical damage, but simultaneously the ability is extremely weak versus magic nukers.

Your teammate cannot move or use any skill during the healing time. There are many casters from tier 1 to 3 with exceptional nukes who can exploit this situation to inflict heavy damage or even score a kill, for example Necrophos, Lina, and Pugna.

Never underestimate the vision advantage

According to Dotabuff, the +350 health talent is the preferred one in pubs (considering all ranks), but the situation is different in pro games. I have checked manually the skill builds used during ESL One Hamburg 2018, and the extra night vision is clearly the favored option.

It gives you an edge in team fight and in the ward war. Note that even if this skill grants flying movement, it doesn’t provide also flying vision, but you can still get it by simply flying over a cliff.

Usually first picked or banned

WW isn’t a great first pick hero because you can counter her with a strong offlane duo and a good magic core. There are certainly more flexible heroes you may prefer as an early pick, but often you do not have a choice (especially when a hero is either banned or picked in most games), so during October she has been selected during the first phase in over 70% of the pro games.

Winter Wyvern in pubs

Winter Wyvern maintains a win rate slightly above 50% at all ranks, and becomes a great pick at the Divine medal where she reaches a 51.9% win rate with a notable 17.5% pick rate.

Many players believe that the heroes with a healing skill have an advantage in pubs, but this is incorrect. For example, Dazzle is in a very bad spot with a negative win rate of 48-49% at all ranks.

As I have already explained concerning the pro gameplay, WW just works well with and against many popular heroes, and I think that Winter’s Curse ability to pierce the Black King Bar is a big plus (especially at higher ranks). With a low 80 seconds cooldown, this skill is virtually available in every team fight, and can be used freely in any gank as a control tool or just to stop a teleport attempt.

Note: you can target spell immune enemies, but can’t taunt them.

It isn’t easy to use WW’s skills correctly. Splinter Blast is very basic and a mistake won’t inhibit the actions of your teammates, but using her ultimate or Cold Embrace at the wrong time or onto an unsuitable target can invalidate a kill attempt and even help the opponents. This might be the reason behind her lower pick rate - from 5 to 8% - below Ancient.

Ancestral Luck loading screen for Ogre Magi - Valve

Ogre Magi is first pick material

Ogre Magi possesses a well-rounded skillset and is one of the tankiest supports in Dota 2. He can adapt to several roles and positions, and his utility is welcomed in almost any game.

Drafting him doesn’t reveal your strategy at all; also for this reason pro players first-picked him in about 80% of the matches in October.

Very durable during the laning phase. With 650 HP at level one, 8.24 armor, and the best health regeneration in the game (4.75), Ogre Magi is one of the hardest heroes to kill during the early and mid game. Often, pro teams sacrifice him to absorb damage that otherwise would hit their cores.

This is a noticeable difference with pubs where many players think only to their own survivability. Of course, suiciding isn’t your goal, but be aware that jumping into the fight at the right time and tanking damage might save the life of your carries.

A versatile arsenal of skills. He possesses a stun, a nuke, a slow, and a speed buff for the auto-attackers of the team.

All his skills are powerful in the laning phase, and you should level up the one that helps your team the most:

Fireblast deals damage and stuns the target, but the duration of the stun doesn’t change, so this ability was often left at level 1.

7.19 increased the damage of Fireblast from 55/110/165/220 to 60/120/180/240, and 7.16 boosted the 2x Multicast chance at level 1 from 40 to 60%, so now prioritizing this skill is also a great option to get a huge nuke with a bit of luck.

Ignite slows and damages the target over time. It deals up to 130/204/294/400 damage versus a single target, so damage-wise it is a better choice if compared to Fireblast, which deals 60/120/180/240 in a single nuke (without considering Multicast). It has also a greater caster range: 700 vs 475.

Stay alive and cast Bloodlust

There is nothing wrong with the other skills, but I want to focus your attention on Bloodlust as this ability is very underestimated in pubs.

Ogre is an exceptional hero to trade hits in the laning phase thanks to his moderate damage and high toughness, so the extra movement and attack speed provided by Bloodlust helps to chase the enemy supports and the melee cores.

If you duo with a suitable carry, he will enjoy Bloodlust for both the harassing power and the increased farming capabilities. In particular, maxing out Bloodlust will be of great help also once the laning phase ends: as long as you keep the auto-attackers buffed, they will able to gain a prominent gold advantage.

This isn’t always a viable strategy in solo queue; you don’t know if you can trust your cores, so it is preferable contributing with your magic spells.

In team fights, even if your damage output declines in the late game, keeping the physical carries under the effect of Bloodlust brings a huge DPS boost and makes you a significant resource.

This ability is indeed powerful during all the match as it accelerates the farm, makes your towers more dangerous, helps initiations, and boosts your carries.

Note: I have manually checked most games played at ESL One Hamburg 2018, and even if the skill build that prioritizes Fireblast is the most popular one, there isn’t a definitive “best choice”. The builds utilized varied greatly depending on the team and the heroes selected.

Pub players love Ogre Magi

Ogre Magi has a pick rate that goes from 15 to 25% at all ranks, while maintaining a successful win rate from 51.5 to 55%.

Even if you are not used to support heroes, his skillset makes him durable, entertaining, and easy to use.

There aren’t many skills in the game as satisfying as the effect of a triple or quadruple Multicast.

It is literally impossible to commit mistakes because you have no skills who might interfere with your team strategy such as Winter Wyvern, Shadow Demon, Tusk, or Bane ones.

Tier 2

Hero

Name

P+B

P+B%

Picks

Picks%

Bans

Bans%

Win%

Silencer

187

56.8%

51

15.5%

136

41.3%

49.0%

Phoenix

179

54.4%

100

30.4%

79

24.0%

54.0%

Terrorblade

179

54.4%

88

26.8%

91

27.7%

45.5%

Broodmother

178

54.1%

26

7.9%

152

46.2%

42.3%

Mirana

169

51.4%

108

32.8%

61

18.5%

42.6%

Morphling

167

50.8%

70

21.3%

97

29.5%

58.6%

Undying

161

48.9%

70

21.3%

91

27.7%

47.1%

Lina

157

47.7%

81

24.6%

76

23.1%

53.1%

Bane

156

47.4%

101

30.7%

55

16.7%

59.4%

Treant Protector

149

45.3%

42

12.8%

107

32.5%

35.7%

Pugna

149

45.3%

70

21.3%

79

24.0%

42.9%

I have already analyzed almost all the top heroes of the current meta during the past months.

You can find detailed information on The International 8 Tier List, which presents popular picks such as Wraith King, Weaver, Spectre, Phantom Lancer, and more.

After every patch, I have also published articles on the most played safe, mid, and off lane heroes at 5k+ MMR. Each analysis highlights several heroes, and explanations on patch changes. Clinkz, Silencer, Ursa, Vengeful Spirit, Alchemist, Broodmother, and Treant Protector are among the heroes featured in this series.

In tier 4 and 5 we find all the situational heroes. They are strong when paired with others, or against specific lineups. These heroes aren't bad, they just don't work in every game, so the pick and ban rates aren't outstanding.

Tier 5

Hero

Name

P+B

P+B%

Picks

Picks%

Bans

Bans%

Win%

Tusk

16

4.9%

14

4.3%

2

0.6%

42.9%

Anti-Mage

15

4.6%

10

3.0%

5

1.5%

50.0%

Ancient Apparition

14

4.3%

13

4.0%

1

0.3%

46.2%

Keeper of the Light

13

4.0%

8

2.4%

5

1.5%

50.0%

Medusa

12

3.7%

10

3.0%

2

0.6%

50.0%

Lion

12

3.7%

8

2.4%

4

1.2%

37.5%

Pangolier

11

3.3%

8

2.4%

3

0.9%

50.0%

Oracle

11

3.3%

6

1.8%

5

1.5%

83.3%

Techies

11

3.3%

2

0.6%

9

2.7%

50.0%

Puck

11

3.3%

9

2.7%

2

0.6%

44.4%

Spirit Breaker

10

3.0%

9

2.7%

1

0.3%

77.8%

Juggernaut

10

3.0%

6

1.8%

4

1.2%

33.3%

Slark

9

2.7%

7

2.1%

2

0.6%

57.1%

Lifestealer

9

2.7%

8

2.4%

1

0.3%

25.0%

Chaos Knight

8

2.4%

3

0.9%

5

1.5%

33.3%

Tidehunter

8

2.4%

6

1.8%

2

0.6%

66.7%

Queen of Pain

7

2.1%

7

2.1%

0

0.0%

28.6%

Underlord

6

1.8%

4

1.2%

2

0.6%

75.0%

Night Stalker

6

1.8%

5

1.5%

1

0.3%

40.0%

Omniknight

6

1.8%

4

1.2%

2

0.6%

50.0%

Witch Doctor

6

1.8%

6

1.8%

0

0.0%

50.0%

Abaddon

5

1.5%

3

0.9%

2

0.6%

0.0%

Bristleback

5

1.5%

5

1.5%

0

0.0%

20.0%

Beastmaster

5

1.5%

5

1.5%

0

0.0%

40.0%

Sniper

5

1.5%

5

1.5%

0

0.0%

40.0%

Riki

5

1.5%

3

0.9%

2

0.6%

33.3%

Shadow Fiend

5

1.5%

4

1.2%

1

0.3%

0.0%

Disruptor

4

1.2%

4

1.2%

0

0.0%

50.0%

Outworld Devourer

4

1.2%

2

0.6%

2

0.6%

50.0%

Doom

4

1.2%

4

1.2%

0

0.0%

0.0%

Slardar

4

1.2%

3

0.9%

1

0.3%

66.7%

Sven

4

1.2%

3

0.9%

1

0.3%

100%

Skywrath Mage

3

0.9%

2

0.6%

1

0.3%

50.0%

Naga Siren

3

0.9%

3

0.9%

0

0.0%

33.3%

Dark Seer

3

0.9%

3

0.9%

0

0.0%

0.0%

Viper

3

0.9%

2

0.6%

1

0.3%

100%

Sand King

3

0.9%

3

0.9%

0

0.0%

33.3%

Lone Druid

1

0.3%

1

0.3%

0

0.0%

0.0%

Warlock

1

0.3%

1

0.3%

0

0.0%

0.0%

Razor

1

0.3%

1

0.3%

0

0.0%

0.0%

Pudge

1

0.3%

1

0.3%

0

0.0%

100%

Heroes not drafted

Vincenzo is an esports writer with five years of experience. Former head editor for Natus Vincere, he has produced content for DreamHack, FACEIT, DOTAFire, 2P, and more. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.